§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which British Internet service companies have followed the lead of British Telecom by installing software to block material showing child pornography; and how many have not yet done so. [HL4353]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleThe UK has led the world in having Internet service industries (both fixed and mobile), government and law enforcement agencies working together to reduce child pornography on the Internet. According to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), less then 1 per cent of child pornography on the Internet is hosted in the UK.
The Government encourage any measure which BT or any other Internet service providers can take to reduce the availability of child abuse images. However, the Government do not have a list of companies that have chosen to follow BT's lead in the blocking of Internet material containing child pornography.
DTI and Home Office Ministers have met with representatives of Internet service providers to discuss how to further reduce access to child abuse images online and this dialogue continues. I understand that, like BT, Vodafone blocks access to sites listed by the IWF and that other service providers are considering similar measures.